Truss



Patented Aug. 23, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES 3"."I'RA'UB, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

TRUSS.

Application filed August 21, 1926. vSerial No. 130,625.

My invention relates to trusses for the support of hernia, and more particularly to that type in which a resilient member extends from the pad or other element at the place of rupture, around each side of the body to respective lateral portions of the back, Where the ends of the portions so extended around have to bear firmly against the back under the pressure incident to outward flexing of the resilient member, so as to insure against shifting of the truss; Usually, also, such a truss hasa strap or the like connecting` the two ends across the back.

The object of my invention is to relieve the wearer of discomfort where the end portions bear against the' back, without hindering the free action of the resilient structure to yield incident to the movements of the wearer and without diminishing the security of holding of these end portions at the back. Other objects `will appear in the course of the following description.

I attain these objects by the device illustrated, for example, in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a rear view of the truss,l in operative position on the body of a person, the front portions of the ,truss also being shown by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of one of the rear end portions of the truss, the crossconnecting strap being indicated by dotted lines; f

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the plane of the broken line 3-3 of/Fig. 2;'

Figrt is a detail perspective view of one of the plates; and

Fig. 5 is a. similar view of one of the clips.

As may be seen in Fig. 1, the truss comprises the two pads 1 connected by a crosspiece 2, at the front of the body; being thus a truss for double hernia. For single hernia, where only one pad 1 would be used, this cross-piece 2 would not be needed. The resilientmembers 3 have their front ends connected to the respective pads; and in single hernia, both would be connected to the one pad. These front details of the truss may be of any specific construction, according to the ydesign of the truss, -of which there are many different kinds of this type; and therefore I do not deem it necessary to illustrate the front structure any more fully than it is in Fig. 1. It may be said, however, that, instead of two separate resilient members 3 as shown, there may be one continuous meinber, extending around the front and connected `to the pad or pads, with its end p0rtions extending around to the back. The

`application of my invention thereto will not be materially affectedby any such variationsof front structure.

The resilient parts 3, which usually are steel springs, are covered with leather l or the like, to make the truss easy tothe wearer and to protect them from rusting or corroding. In the usual form of vthese trusses, they have had merely an enlargement at each rear end, supplied with a portion of cov-ering or a slight padding, the size of which is limited to that which will not interfere with theholding effect of these end portions as pressed firmly to the back.

In my invention, I leave the end portion 5 exposed by terminating the covering l some distance from the end, and provide a disk @preferably of leather, concentric with which is a metal plate 7 (Fig. 4) having prongs 8 turned in from its periphery and passing forward through the disk 6,.into the front face of which they Vare clinched. This plate has next to its center two parallel slots 9, and the material between the slots f 9 is ydistended back to form an arch 10. A clip 11 of sheet metal (Fig. 5) isbent so as to have an eye l12 and yfiat tongues 13 both extending in the same general direction therefrom. v The eye 12 of this clip embraces the arch 10 of the plate 7, andits tongues 13 straddle the end portion of the resilient member o. Each tonguel 13 has two openings 14 and the end portion of the member `3 has two openings; the openings of the clip `and of the member 3 registering so as to admit therethrough two rivets 15 and 16 which fasten the clip 11 rigidly to the mein- .ber One of the rivets, 15, is merely an ordinary rivet with heads at both sides lying close to the clip surface, to lie under the covering 4l when the truss is completed; but the other rivet, `16, having such a head at the' inner surface, has `at the outer side a neck 17 with 16 thereof, to extend across the back as clear-4 ly shown in F ig. l; this strap functioning as it has in trusses of this type heretofore use-d.

The front of the disk 6 preferably is provided with a padding 22, such as felt or the like, with a covering 23 of thin soft leather or the like, which covering is what makes direct contact with the wearers back. This covering 23 and padding 22 are, as here shown, attached to the disk 6 by stitching 24:.

The rear end of the resilient member 3 thus is pivoted to the plate 7 and disk 6, and padding attached thereto, so that although the padded structure fixed by the prongs 8 toY the plate 7 may always remain firmly in contact with the back, and not be shifted about thereon incident to movements of the wearer, the end portions of the reA silient members 3 may swivel forwardly and backwardly as the members 3 bend to accommodate such movements. In the prior trusses, this swiveling effect must occur at the contact with the slightly padded end portions of the member with the back, under the heavy pressure required to avoid shifting, with great discomfort to the wearer, and frequently producing chafing and soreness at these portions of the back. Also, by allowing swiveling between the resilient members 3 and the padded structure, the latter may have ample area to create sufficient holding Vfriction with the back for very secure anchoring of the truss, without such concentration as to produce discomfort or soreness. The mere padded ends of the prior truss constructions necessarily, by the movements of the truss members, could not always present fiat surfaces to the back, so that the holding effect, even with heavy pressure, might not be reliable. lVith my improvement, even greater strength of the resilient members 3, with greater pressure at the back, may be employed, while still not producing the discomfort and soreness of the prior devices. This is due to the entirely free, purely swiveling relation of the pad to the resilient member, without introducing any element of resiliency into the relation between thel two, and therefore avoiding all tendency to tilt the pad by the flexing of the resilient member. l

I have rather precisely described and illustrated a preferred example cf my invention, but it willbe understood that some modifica.- tions may occur without departure from the scope andspirit of my invention; and what I desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a truss, in combination with a resilient back member thereof, a padded flat element, a plate having prongs clinched into said element and having apertures with a part between said apertures distended away from said element, forming a pivot part, and means embracing said pivot part and fixed to said member.

2. In a truss, in combination with a resilient back member thereof, of flat crosssection near its end, a back-contacting element, a plate having prongs clinched into said element and having' apertures with a part between said apertures distended away from said element, forming a pivot part, and a clip comprising an eye embracing said pivot part and tongues straddling said member near its end and riveted to said member.

3. In a truss, in combination with a resilient back member` thereof, of flat crosssection near its end, a baclscontacting element, a plate having prongs clinched into said element and having apertures with a part between said apertures distended away from said element, forming a pivot part, a clip comprising an eye embracingsaid pivot part and tongues straddling said member near its end, and a fastening element passing through said tongues and said member, securing said clip to said member, and having an extension for engagement with a strap or the like.

t. In a truss, in combination with a resilient bacl member thereof, a back-contact ing element contacting with a relatively wide area of the back of the wearer, and a connectionbctween said member and said element, located centrally of said element and allowing relative movement of said member and said element in aplane substantially at right Vangles to the back of the wearer.

5. In a truss, means for movably connecting a back-contacting element and a resilientback member of the truss, comprising a plate withV prongs turned in from its periphery and apertures near its center, between which apertures a portion of said plate is distended outward, and a clip comprising an eye embracing said distended portion and tongues extending in the same general direction from said eye.

G. In a truss, connecting means for a back-contacting element comprising a plate with prongs turned in from its periphery and apertures near its center, between which apertures a portion of said plate is distended outward.

,7. In a truss, a clip comprising an eye to embrace part of a back-contacting element,

and tongues extending in the same general direction from said eye to straddle an end portion of a truss member.

CHARLES J. TRAUB. 

